


Loser of The Year

by ILLEGAILE



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Rush (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Brocedes, Fabian being cute, Hamilberg, Happy Ending, I just love family members, Implied Launt, Kibastian, Kimi's Nephews, M/M, Newis, OK There is heart break, One-Sided Attraction, Raikkonen Family, Rathunt - Freeform, Singer AU, Vettel Family, simi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-03-10 14:51:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3294452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILLEGAILE/pseuds/ILLEGAILE
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian had been to a lot of concerts, but somehow this concert seemed different from the rest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is going to be pretty long. I'll need your opinion on what songs I'll be using for each chapter. So, let's do this together!
> 
> Kimi - Fall Out Boy  
> Sebastian - Boys Like Girls/Ed Sheeran  
> Michael Schumacher - Maroon 5
> 
> Should Sebastian have a voice like Boys Like Girls or Ed Sheeran?

**Prologue:**

 

* * *

 

"Are you having fun, Seb?" Norbert Vettel smiled down at his over-excited fourteen-year-old son. He had already grown so much the past year that it wouldn't be long until Norbert had to look _up_ at him. 

But Sebastian hadn't changed much in terms of personality, he still was a rabid fan of _Michael Schumacher_.

Michael Shumacher was the leader of a popular band Norbert knew nothing about and Sebastian - who had wanted to sing professionally since he learned to sing the alphabet - adored him, claiming that one day he would be even more popular than his fellow German.

"I'm having lots of fun! Thanks dad." Sebastian grinned at his father and yelled when the lights dimmed, a voice announcing the arrival of the opening act. Norbert shook his head at his son before turning to watch the concert.

"It's starting!" Sebastian shook his father's arm excitedly before an eerie silence overtook the crowd and a low tone echoed across the arena but the German was too busy staring at the singer to take notice of the lyrics.

The singer was incredibly attractive.

Sebastian turned a dark shade of red, grateful at least that the lights were dim and his father couldn't see his face. 

It's not that his dad didn't know he was also attracted to guys, his father was accepting enough. Seb just wasn't completely used to being so openly attracted to some singer. He wasn't even attracted by Michael that way.

The singer was newly discovered, Sebastian could tell because he hasn't heard of the song he was singing. The singer was blonde and lean, just a few years older than Sebastian, and had this intense sort of stare. Any emotion he might have had was immediately felt in his voice while he sang despite the blank expression on his face.

Sebastian felt himself sigh more times than he could count before their performance finally ended and he cheered for the group along with the rest of the crowd.

" **Ladies and Gentlemen, Kimi Raikkonen!** "

Sebastian stood silently, staring at the man - Kimi - as he waved and walked off the stage without a trace of hesitation. He muttered the name under his breath, liking the way it rolled off his tongue.  _Kimi Raikkonen._

"Seb, it's Michael!" 

Sebastian's father nudged him a little bit and gestured to Michael Schumacher singing to his newest single, _Payphone_. He shoved his thoughts to the back of his mind and started cheering again.

He would have time to think about _him_ later.

_Kimi Raikkonen._


	2. I: Centuries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's 13 years later and Sebastian is going to another concert.
> 
> Except, this time Kimi Raikkonen isn't the opening act.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The songs I used for this chapter were "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy and "Be Your Everything" by Boys Like Girls.
> 
> So far, I'm thinking of using I Don't Care for Kimi's next show as suggested by jennypetraki but if you guys have any suggestions leave a comment!

**I: Centuries**

* * *

 

_There's a lot of talk about me,_

_People lining up to meet me._

 

* * *

 

"Why does he look so bored?"

 

"It's just the way he is, Fabian" Sebastian answered without even turning to look at his brother. 

"I don't get why you like him so much, he hardly smiles" Fabian replies, his arms crossed and looking at him petulantly.

"He does smile, he just doesn't do it that often. But when he does it's the most amazing thing you'll ever see."

Fabian blinked quizzically at his older brother's reverence and decided to drop the subject. He will never understand why Seb is so blindly committed to men he didn't even know.

"What am I even doing here?"

Sebastian laughed and ruffled his little brother, Fabian's, hair. It was another concert, the 7th that Sebastian had seen that year, but this was different. Kimi Raikkonen was singing. And _oh_ , Sebastian knew a lot of artists whose talents got sour quickly but Kimi just got better and better. 

" _And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name. 'Cause I was only born inside my dreams!_ " Kimi screamed, holding his hand out to the crowd. Sebastian was past the stage where he would try to reach out to Kimi but he was still smitten for the Finn. Most of the time he didn't know what to do with himself but he mostly had it reigned in now that he was a grown man.

" _Until you die for me, as long as there is a light, my shadow's over you. 'Cause I- I-_ "

"I am the opposite of amnesia..." Sebastian sang along. No one was too old to sing along to a good song, especially if it was their favorite song. Centuries was one of his favorite songs because he identified with it, wanting to be remembered for centuries as someone who was different. 

He felt his brother nudge him again in the side and looked at him.

"Why do I have to be here, too? You're only here to see your weird crush." Fabian deadpanned. Sebastian only shook his head at his brother. He just didn't understand what it was to be passionate about something.

"This is the last song, afterwards we will go to the signing and before you know it we'll be ho-"

 

" **Du du du du du du-du du du du du du du du-du du** " the fans began to sing in unison drawing Seb's attention back to the stage where Kimi was climbing a platform he would ultimately jump off of.

"Just try to enjoy yourself!" Sebastian yelled before going back to cheering along with thousands of other fans.

"Some legends are told, some turn to dust or to gold. But you will remember me! Remember me for centuries!" Sebastian sang along, waving his arms around in that wild and energetic way he did almost everything.

Fabian rolled his eyes. Sebastian knew Kimi wasn't going to hear him out of his insane amount of fans but that wasn't about to stop him. Fabian shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and made for the line for the signing that would happen after the concert.

If he was going to stick around he might as well wait in line so that they didn't have to take any longer to go home.

* * *

 

 

Half an hour later, with Fabian next in line and no Sebastian to be found, the younger Vettel decided to take the Album out of his backpack - that Seb asked him to guard with his life - and observe this _Kimi Raikkonen_ his brother was so crazy about.

His brother was right at least to say that the man was handsome. He was well built, which was predictable since he was a famous artist, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was an obvious sort of handsome and judging by the bored expression he wore while he met with his fans he was also the silent and uncaring type.

But then the group of kids in front of him held their CD out to be signed, greeting the singer a happy ' _Hello Mr. Raikkonen! Please sign this for us, we love your songs lots_.', and Raikkonen smiled at them.

Raikkonen _smiled_ at them.

Ignoring the desperate screams of 'I love your songs lots too!' from behind him, Fabian recalled a conversation he and Seb had earlier.

 _"He does smile, he just doesn't do it that often. But when he does it's the most amazing thing you'll ever see."_ Seb had said.

Fabian wasn't bi, like his brother, but he could see the truth in that statement. He eyed the agent standing next to Kimi. He knew his brother wanted to be a singer too and this was his chance not only to help his brother to live his dream but also because if Seb signed with Kimi's manager he might just get to work with Kimi Raikkonen.

Fabian watched the kids leave and put on his best smile.

 _For Seb,_ he thought before speaking.

"Hi, I'm Fabian. My brother and I sort of got separated but he's a huge fan. Really. He's been a fan since, I think 2001" he explained, holding the Seb's album in his slightly trembling fingers. 

"Really?" Kimi asked, but Fabian didn't know him well enough to see whether or not he was really interested.

"Yeah, he saw you at the Michael Schumacher concert and hasn't gotten over it since. He's a great singer too." Fabian grinned, doing his best to talk his brother up while eyeing the agent for any reaction. The man had one eyebrow raised and a wide grin slapped across his face. He hopes that means he has his attention.

"I haven't seen Sebastian but I have a recording in my phone" he pulled out his iPhone and opened his voice memo app. Sebastian liked to record himself singing so he had at least three recordings in every family member's phone. He had 5 in Fabian's phone.

Fabian recognized one of them and clicked on it, raising the volume so that Kimi and the agent could hear it.

"I'm Sebastian Vettel and this is my song, Be Your Everything" the sound of strumming - most likely from Seb's guitar - began as they listened to Fabian's brother sing.

_**"I'll be your shelter, I'll be your storm. I'll make you shiver, I'll keep you warm."** _

As Sebastian's voice poured out of the speaker, Fabian watched as Kimi's expression intensified. The Finn turned to his agent who seemed shocked yet slightly amused. Fabian knew his brother was good but even he - with his bad taste in music - could tell that even recorded on a crappy smart phone Sebastian could make money with a voice like that. His fingers stopped trembling as courage bled into him. This could _work_.

_**"Whatever weather, baby I'm yours-"** _

"Fabian! There you are!"

Fabian turned sharply and shut his phone off as the looming weight of his older brother crashed into his smaller form. He groaned. Of course Seb _had_ to interrupt. "I've been looking everywhere for you" Sebastian muttered, checking Fabian for any scars or cuts or broken bones. The younger Vettel sighed. 

"I'm fine Seb" Fabian said, firmly.

 

"You are Sebastian, I think?"

Both Vettels turned abruptly to meet the eyes of the ever stoic Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian's jaw dropping ever so slightly as he did so. Kimi stood up from his chair and took the album Fabian was holding, making quick work of signing it before returning it to the boy.

"My agent's number is on there, you're a good singer. If you want to be signed with Ferrari just give James a call"

And with that, Kimi walked into his trailer with his agent and the fans behind them went into a frenzy of 'that's not fair' and 'I waited hours in this line'. All Fabian could think of was his brother, still gaping at the spot where Kimi stood.

Fabian nudged the older Vettel.

"What?" Sebastian asked softly, as if coming straight out of a dream.

Fabian held out the album, his face schooled into a look of boredom.

 

"Can we go home now?"


	3. II: I Don't Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not updating but I've got tons of work. I have had this idea floating around in my head for a while and I've mapped out the story but a ton of things are still not coming together and I hope you guys can help point out some things as we go. This chapter features Kimi being a giant teddy bear in disguise and a brief stint singing "I Don't Care" by Fall Out Boy.

**II: I Don't Care**

* * *

 

_ I'm on the verge of celebrity _

* * *

 

Sebastian didn't need to call Kimi's agent at all.

 

Because the very next day Sebastian found the man half-asleep on his living room couch while another man was speaking to his father in hushed German.

"Oh, hello Sebastian!" the agent - James, he remembered - perked himself up, looking to the other man for support and pouting when the man opted to ignore him to talk to Norbert Vettel. "Come now, Niki. You know I don't speak German" he muttered petulantly, like a child who wasn't getting enough attention from his mother.

"Hush" the other man, Niki, glared at James before once again returning to his conversation.

Seeing that Niki wouldn't give him the time of day, James stood up and made his way to Sebastian who had taken to staring at the man talking to his father.

"I apologize for dropping in, but my husband insisted that we record your first single so that we can use the left over excitement from Kimi's tour" James tittered, not missing the way Sebastian blinked in surprise at the mention of his _husband_.

Sebastian was far from stupid, he knew exactly _who_ was chatting with his father.

"Niki Lauda is _your_ husband?" Sebastian asked, stunned that men who were rivals in the music industry were actually _married_. 

Lauda scoffed, looking vaguely amused at Sebastian's question.

"You see, I'm not the only person who is surprised I am married to such an asshole" the Austrian jibed, smirking at James.

"Niki, love. You wound me so. But, sad to say, your ratty ass is stuck with me now" the Brit grinned, returning Lauda's insult like it was second nature.

Sebastian watched their exchange for a while, a little envious of what the two men had. It was obvious that Hunt and Lauda loved each other and the constant bickering seemed to be a part of that. Sebastian wondered idly if he could have something like that with someone in the future. He wondered if he would ever fall so hard for someone and have that person love him back.

 

"Niki signed your album, Seb" Norbert smiled, raising his son's copy of Niki's old album " _Get Your Heart On!_ ".

"You really didn't need to do that, Mr. Lauda" Sebastian said sheepishly, feeling his blood pooling in his cheeks.

"I was happy to, really" the Austrian smiled, once again surprising Seb. 

The papers mentioned Lauda being cold and calculated. None of the descriptions matched the man in front of him. James wasn't like the womanizing playboy the media made him to be either. 

Sebastian will have to rethink a _lot_ of things later.

 

"I'm hurt you don't have any of my albums" James mused, crosing his arms.

"That's because he has taste" Niki retorted, nudging past James to hand Sebastian a pristine white folder.

No doubt with a contract inside.

"We spoke to your father about it and he thinks if this is what you want you're free to pursue it" Niki explained, Sebastian's gaze shifting to look at his father. 

"The contract is good, the choice is yours" Norbert said, smiling.

Sebastian opened the folder and everyone waited with bated breath while his blue eyes skimmed the paper.

It _was_ a good contract.

"It's the same as Kimi's, if it makes you feel any better" James grinned, a soft ' _ow_ ' followed his statement and Sebastian looked up just in time to catch Niki jabbing his husband's side with his elbow. "What? You were thinking it too" James muttered, rubbing at the now sore spot on his side. 

It made Sebastian feel somewhat better that he was going to be represented by not just a couple of famous singers but a couple of ordinary men who loved music.

 

_Sebastian Vettel._

 

After signing the papers, he changed into some casual clothes and was whisked away to the studio where they holed up and recorded Sebastian's song.

_**"Whatever weather, baby I'm yours-"** _

"Stop, stop" Niki said, the music in Sebastian's headphones coming to an imediate halt. "I think you should take a break, you are too tense. You can't record your song like this." Sebastian sighed, he knew the recording wasn't going all that well. He got out of the booth and stood in front of Niki who then proceeded to drag him out of the studio.

"Where are we goi-" Seb protested before being cut of by Lauda telling him to _'shut up'_.

They entered another room, one that looked exactly like the one Seb was in just seconds ago, except someone was singing.

 _Kimi_ , Sebastian thought as Lauda let go of him. They were both content to stand there and watch Kimi record his song.

 

Kimi has a certain way about him that commanded everyone's attention even when the Finn wasn't looking for it. And he was blunt, a trait that his agents - particularly, Niki - liked in him. They had mentioned once that Kimi had this fire in him when he wrote and it burst out when he sang. They often used him to demonstrate to the new bloods how to properly record a song.

So, it wasn't surprising that Lauda dragged Sebastian there on his first day of recording.

Sebastian had a way about him too, albeit a way that demanded that people like him. Kimi was usually put off by how adoring his fans were but Sebastian was somewhat different. Kimi shook his head. These were not the kind of thoughts he should have been having while singing his song.

Focus. Think about something annoying, think about the press, think about Bernie Ecclestone. Yes, _Bernie Ecclestone_.

" _Say my name and his in the same breath_ " Kimi droned, dragging his words out in that husky way he sometimes sang. " _I dare you to say they taste the same_ " he clutched one side of his headphones closer to his ear, tapping a pencil idly on the stand in front of him that held messily written lyrics to his song. " _Let the leaves fall off in the summer and let December glow_ in _flames_ " he pointed at the band, they echoed _'in flames'_ right on cue. So far so good. Here comes the tricky part.

" _Erase myself and let go_ " he sang, those lyrics were fine. " _Start it over again in Mexico_ "  he enunciated, good. He let himself get right into the song, trying to get a feel for the lyrics.

Niki studied the Finn and frowned. 

"He's having a bit of trouble with the lyrics today" the Austrian whispered to Sebastian who swallowed the lump in his throat. He felt it too. Something was off about the song. Something was off about  _Kimi_.

 

" _These friends, they don't love you! They just love you in your dreams-_ shit, stop" Kimi threw his pencil down in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. His band was beginning to get restless and Kimi still couldn't get the message of the song straight. 

"Come on, think" Kimi muttered to himself, letting his forehead touch the paper all wrinkled and torn in some places from erasing so many lines. Kimi liked to think that his song was to point out that his life as a singer wasn't all roses and happiness. It was all very superficial and Kimi could care less about how vain it all was because he loved his music. Why can't he just turn his thoughts into words-

"It should be  _These friends, they don't love you. They just love the hotel suites'._ " 

Kimi looked up to see who it was that had taken the microphone outside of his booth only to come face to face with Sebastian Vettel.

Well, damn.

"It's about you, right? Well, it's about you wanting people  _not_ to think about you?" Sebastian explained, blushing profusely. Kimi almost smiled at how quick to blush the German was.

"Alright, what comes next?" Kimi mused, erasing the line and writing Sebastian's. It fit, unsurprisingly.

"What do you mean?" Sebastian blinked, obviously confused at how accepting Kimi was of his idea.

"What do you think should come next? I don't care if it's stupid" Kimi shrugged, watching the German's eyes light up like a child on Christmas Day.

"You don't care?"

"I don't care"

Sebastian laughs and Kimi swears it's one of the best things he's heard all day.

"The next line should be ' _I don't care what you think'_ and then, maybe so that you emphasize that they shouldn't think about you..." Sebastian went over the line again, thinking of what was missing.

"I don't care what you think  _as long as it's about me_ " Kimi added, smiling a little at the German. It could definitely work.

"Exactly, you don't care what they're thinking of if it's about you. That's it." Sebastian cheered, earning an amused chuckle from the normally cold Finn.

Sebastian could have decided to stay out of show business and its drama but it's worth it for _that moment_.

"That's pretty good, you have any more ideas?" Kimi mused, taking his headphones off and signing for his band to take a break.

"A few, why?" Sebastian smiled, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans so Kimi wouldn't see how hard he was shaking.

"I need to pick something up, but I might need some feedback" Kimi proposed, not missing the fact that nearly the entire staff's jaws had dropped open at the prospect of _Kimi Raikkonen_ going out of his way to talk to someone other than his agents.

"Oh, I guess I could go with you. I need inspiration myself." Sebastian admitted, feeling a little more confident knowing that Kimi valued his feedback.

Kimi grinned. With _his teeth_.

 

"I know exactly where to go"


	4. III: Lego House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a cold almost-December but Sebastian has the feels to keep him warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rich Text was not available today so I will edit it some other time. This chapter was horrible to post, AO3 was NOT cooperating. But I did it! Tell me what you think. :)
> 
> Edited.

_**III: Lego House** _

* * *

 

_So whatcha think about that?_

* * *

 

Sebastian didn’t know where they were going but he pulled his coat on and got in Kimi’s mini van anyway.

 

It was pretty strange, Seb thought, that Kimi with all his money still preferred to drive a mini van.

"I like the mini van. There’s more space to put things." Kimi muttered while turning the ignition, as if sensing Sebastian’s curiosity.

Sebastian chuckled, tapping his pen on the slightly tattered notebook in his lap.

Kimi looked at the notebook and shook his head, reaching for something at the back seat and tossing it to Sebastian. Sebastian caught it with relative ease only to realize that it was a new notebook with the company logo on it.

"What’s this for?" Sebastian raised a brow at Kimi who pulled out of his parking space and started driving.

"For writing. That notebook, they’re your old songs?" Kimi asked, not really needing an answer because he knew he was right.

"Yes" Sebastian confirmed anyway because hey, he might as well.

"You’re with us now, it’s a new start. A new page, so to say. That’s why I gave you a new notebook." Kimi smiled, turning left to the freeway as they left the recording studio.

Sebastian only nodded in reply, opening the notebook to the first page and writing his name on the top left corner before turning to look at Kimi again.

"Thanks"

Kimi turned and grinned at him.

"It’s nothing" he said as he shifted gears.

Sebastian smiled, remembering how Kimi had said “ _You’re with **us**_ ” instead of “ _You’re with **Ferrari**_ ”.

 

By the time they stopped Sebastian had scribbled short phrases and a couple of anecdotes here and there on the first page of the notebook.

And if he had written a tiny “ **I <3 K.R.**” in one of the page’s corners he’ll chalk it up to the fact that he’s a fan and old habits will die hard.

He insists that Kimi turn down the AC because it’s already cold outside before realizing the mini van has stopped.

"Well, what do you expect? It’s almost December." Kimi says, sliding some shades on.

Sebastian scribbles it down.

_It’s a cold December._

He might use that.

"Where are we?" Sebastian asks, looking out the window.

Thankfully, since he wasn’t famous yet, he could actually look out the window without needing to wear shades and a cap. He pitied Kimi in that.

But it was also funny how flustered the Finn got in front of the press so he wasn’t about to complain.

"A community center?" Sebastian raised a brow at Kimi, watching as a slow smile stretched across his face when a soft thump echoed from behind them.

"Kuka on muukalainen?"

" _Scheiße!_ " Sebastian jumped up from his seat and turned only to come face to face with two pairs of familiar blue eyes.

"Scheiße?" Kimi laughed, earning a glare from the startled German.

"Hä?" The boys said in unison, which Sebastian found extremely adorable.

Sebastian refused to acknowledge that it might have been because of familial resemblance. No.

"Speak in English, he is German" Kimi pointed out, poking both boys on the nose.

"I’m taking them to their dad, he’s my brother. He just got here from the airport and their mom had a conference here over the weekend so she decided to take the boys so they could all visit me" Kimi explained.

"Are up to nothing good again, Uncle Kimi?" One of the boys asked, slapping Kimi on the shoulder with his tiny hands.

"I am doing no such thing" Kimi said, shifting the gear and driving back onto the freeway.

"Can we go to the toy store?" One of the boys pleaded.

"Justus" Kimi muttered in warning.

"Oh! Can we?" The other one - the one who was still slapping at Kimi’s arm - begged.

"Tiitus-"

"You want to go to the toy store, too?" Both boys - Justus and Tiitus - turned abruptly, staring at Sebastian.

"It’s not a bad idea" Sebastian grinned when the boys began to yell excitedly.

"We are not going to the toy shop, you boys are going to your dad" Kimi said firmly, but no one in the can took it too seriously.

"Come on, Kimi. Let them have some fun." Sebastian shrugged.

Kimi turned and raised a brow at the German before remembering that he was still driving.

Justus tugged on his Uncle’s shirt sleeve and smirked.

" _We like him_ "

Sebastian burst into hysterical laughter at the incredulous look on Kimi’s face and the mutinous look on his nephew’s faces.

 

"I can’t believe you turned them against me" Kimi muttered as they watched the boys play at a table full of Lego blocks.

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

And really, the Finn should be more surprised that his brother let him hang out with his kids a little longer.

"As long as you are actively talking to someone, I would say it is for your health" Rami had teased when they were on the phone.

"Don’t be stupid, they love you" he shoved the Finn while attempting to draw the Lego monstrosity that Tiitus was building.

It looked to be a cross between a car and a ninja turtle. It was chaos.

"It is _unnatural._ " Kimi said, picking out the red blocks from the pile because Justus insisted that he only worked with red blocks.

"What is?" Sebastian asked, just as Tiitus finally separated from his Lego disaster monster and poked him in the side.

"I am bored. I want just the yellow blocks." Tiitus said, just about as straightforward as his Uncle.

"Why just the yellow ones?" Sebastian asked, crouching down to meet the 7-year-old at eye level.

"I want to make a yellow house" Tiitus shrugged.

"Should I pick the yellow ones out for you?" Sebastian asked, sitting in one of the little wooden chairs and separating the yellow blocks.

"Yes, please" Tiitus smiled, sitting next to him and waiting for Sebastian to pass him the yellow blocks.

Sebastian turned to repeat his question to Kimi only to find him staring.

"What?" Sebastian asked a little defensively, hoping that he wasn’t blushing that hard.

' _Too late for that. Very smooth, Vettel._ ' he thought a little bitterly.

"They do not warm up to people very easily" Kimi shrugged, passing the last of the red blocks to the focused Justus.

"I have a younger brother, they’re all the same" Sebastian grinned while disassembling a couple of blocks to get the yellow L piece, almost dropping it when Kimi started laughing.

 

"You’re not the way I thought you would be" Kimi smiled a little, helping Justus out with his Lego Race Car.

"I didn’t exactly expect to end up building yellow Lego houses with Kimi Räikkönen’s nephew." Sebastian rolled his eyes and felt a satisfied smile spread on his face when Kimi struggled to hide a laugh.

Lego House.

Sebastian took a moment to write it down.

_Lego House._

Yes, he would definitely use that.


	5. IV: How Do You Sleep?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian is finding his way with Kimi by his side, but a new and unexpected acquaintance poses a threat to their dynamic (or at least in Sebastian's mind he does).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. Here you go! Enjoy. :D
> 
> In which, we meet a Princess.

**IV: How Do You Sleep?**

* * *

 

_I’ve got friends in high places_

 

* * *

 

Sebastian was nervous.

This was an apocalyptic kind of nervousness. How on Earth did people expect him to do this? He should have stayed at home. He should have said something, made something up. He should have said that he was ill or at least that he needed to look after Fabian. Except that would never work because Fabian is far from being a kid anymore and he's at school, then Scuderia would find out how incompetent and useless and worthless and helpless he is because Sebastian _can't da-_

"Don't be so fidgety" 

Sebastian looked at the Finn who thought it smart to suddenly appear next to him, making Sebastian jump up in surprise. Kimi only laughed at him. It was easy for him, he didn't get it. Kimi, despite hating all the attention he got for it, was good at this stuff. He was completely the opposite of Sebastian.

"Easy for you to say" Sebastian muttered under his breath, trying to keep calm while Kimi laid a hand on his shaky shoulder. 

"What is this really about?" Kimi raised a brow, walking with Sebastian and the eerily silent Niki to a special room in the studio.

Sebastian went silent.

Kimi continued to stare at him.

There was an awkward silence as Sebastian looked at Kimi, both of them stopping while Niki proceeded to enter the room they were headed to deciding that Kimi would set Sebastian straight.

Sebastian sighed. He really was too easy to read at the best of times and with Kimi the Finn just always saw through him.

"I can't _dance_ "

 

"Of course you can" Kimi said simply, shrugging and opening the door to the room.

"No Kimi, I really can't" Sebastian insisted.

"The more you say that, the more you can't do it. You're stubborn and determined and you love your music. There is no one more qualified to do this music video than you. You can do this." Kimi stared at him, his icy blue eyes boring into Sebastian's. It wasn't everday that Kimi expressed his thoughts so he must really be serious about this.

He must be serious about believing in Seb.

Sebastian really wished he could read Kimi as well as Kimi could read him so that he at least knew what the Finn saw in him when he looked into Sebastian's eyes. 

"I know you can." Kimi said, still not breaking the much-too-long-to-be-normal eye contact.

Sebastian blinked at him but didn't admit that those four words had somehow help lift the dread in his chest. It was funny how one person could have so much of an effect on you. 

"You have too much faith in me" Sebastian muttered, walking into the large recording room.

"I have just enough, thanks" Kimi grinned, following him inside more for moral support than out of actual need. 

 

The recording room was meant to be for filming music videos and after Sebastian finally finished recording the song he wrote it was time for the German to film the video, much to his disdain. The room was large and spacious, props were lined up on the left wall while the back wall was painted a vibrant green so that they didn't need to use a green screen. There was a long table with water and snacks where the back up dancers or actors were stationed in case they were needed. All across the room there were lights and cameras and other things that made the room shine like it was lit by a thousand tiny suns. Usually, they recorded the music videos once every day...

 

Except, that wasn't today. Today, there was another singer filming besides Sebastian.

 

_Ohh oh, ohh oh, ohh oh, oh_

 

Sebastian would know that voice even if the room was dark and he was blindfolded.

It was _Nico_ , Nico Rosberg.

 

* * *

 

This was all wrong.

 

"Toto!" Niki hissed at the man as he quickly but quietly approached him. 

Toto looked at Niki, dark circles under his eyes and a softly ranting assistant by his side.

"What is it, Niki?" he sighed, exasperated from having to deal with his own clients.

"What are you doing here? You are not scheduled to film until tomorrow!" Niki crossed his arms and glared.

"Nico had a bit of a mix-up with his schedule-" Toto tried to explain.

"Was it really Nico? Or was it your brat, Hamilton?" Niki spat, thoroughly pissed but making sure the cameras didn't pick up on their voices.

"You leave Lewis out of this, he makes us money" Toto's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. The last thing he needed today was to deal with Niki Lauda.

"I wouldn't bring him up if you didn't spoil him so much. What did he say to you this time? ' _Oh Toto, can we film later? I have to get my ears pierced some more_ '?" Niki said in a poor imitation of Lewis' accent.

" _Nico_ will be done in a few more takes, after that the place is yours" Toto glared right back at Niki just as the Austrian's phone rang. Saved by the bell.

 

Niki turned to look at Kimi, staring at Nico, staring at Sebastian and sighed.

 

"You better be done before lunch"

 

* * *

 

 

"Are you okay, Nico? Ready for another take?"

Nico smiled and straightened out his leather jacket, his radiators perched carefully on his head so as not to mess up his famed perfect golden hair.

He was about to tell the assistant he was ready when someone called him by name.

 

"Nico!" 

The blonde turned and a grin immediately stretched across his face when he saw that it was Kimi.

"Would you look at that, he approached me without being prompted to. Did you miss me that much, Iceman?" the comment flew out of his mouth without thought, surprising both himself and the Finn.

"In your dreams, Princess" Kimi smiled softly at him and Nico could feel his heart doing back flips in his chest.

 _No_ , not this again.

Nico smiled right back at Kimi on the outside but on the inside he was groaning, annoyed with himself.

 _'Come on, Nico. Pull it together.'_ Nico berated himself. 

"It's been almost a year, Kimi. No need to deny it." Nico smirked, trying to come off as confident.

"Yeah, I missed you" 

Nico blinked. Now _that_ he did not expect.

 

There was a soft cough from behind Kimi and the Finn's smile immediately widened in obvious affection as he hauled a nervous looking brunette in front of him.

"This is Sebastian" 

Nico felt his heart stop for a few seconds, as if his entire body just shut down when he heard Kimi say this boy - this _child's_ \- name with as much reverence as you would some kind of angel. Well, to be fair Sebastian looked only a few years younger than him but still _why?_

Nico smiled and held his hand out to Sebastian.

"Hi, I'm Nico" he said, doing his best to show Sebastian that he was genuinely happy to meet him.

"It's nice to meet you" Sebastian said in German, easing the tension between Nico and himself.

"Been taking care of this one?" Nico replied - still in German - while gesturing to Kimi with a nod of his head.

"More like he's taking care of me" Sebastian admitted, laughing when Kimi pursed his lips in annoyance at the use of a different language.

"You're lucky, he's a great guy" Nico said, watching as a spark of something he knew all too well ignited in Sebastian's eyes.

"He really is, something else entirely" Sebastian nodded, laughing quietly to himself as Kimi began to nudge him.

"The English language is good, you should consider speaking it" Kimi frowned but both of the Germans only laughed at him.

 

" _Nico!_ There you are."

The blonde turned again but grimaced when Lewis grabbed him by the arm.

"We still have to shoot the last chorus" Lewis rolled his eyes and began to drag him away.

"How about your rap thing?" Nico asked, looking to Kimi and Sebastian for help.

"Nico, I'm done. Just do your stupid dance routine before Toto throws a fit." Lewis demanded, pushing Nico to the center of the room where the back up dancers were already standing ready. There was a prop car behind him which he knew he could use if he wanted to.

"Let's start, we don't have all day" Toto shouted as the lights flared on, all focused on Nico at the front of the pack.

 

Nico breathed in and forced his show smile on.

He had some important people watching, and he wasn't about to let them down.

 

* * *

 

 

Lewis was furious.

What was Toto thinking? Why would he schedule the rehearsal now if he knew Kimi Raikkonen was going to be here??

 

"Hi, you're Lewis Hamilton?" the German that Nico had been talking to asked.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Lewis asked, not really wanting to talk to one of Raikkonen's friends.

 

The German looked like he wanted to say something but his attention was stolen away by none other than Kimi.

' _Figures_ ' Lewis thought bitterly.

"Come on, Sebastian. We'll see it better if we move" Kimi said, smiling when Sebastian only beamed at him and pulled him forward.

Lewis looked at the pair, then at Nico, then back at the pair.

 

This wasn't good. He had to do something about this.

He wasn't about to let this happen, not again.

 

* * *

 

 

"Music!"

 

Niki walked up to Sebastian and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excited?" Niki asked.

Sebastian nodded enthusiastically.

"Rosberg is a good singer, a good dancer too" Sebastian muttered as the lights dimmed and brightened to accommodate the star that stood in front of them.

"You should observe, get some pointers" Niki suggested but Sebastian only nodded, looking intently at his fellow German.

The music blaring from the speakers as the dancers began to move completely in sync with Nico.

 

 _"It's been about a year now, ain't seen or heard from you. I been missin you crazy..."_ Nico jumped to action, walking forward to the mic stand that was in front of him while his hands made a grab for the microphone.

 _"How do you, how do you sleep?"_  He took the mic into his hands in one smooth motion before holding his free hand out in front of himself like he's reaching out to something that isn't there.

 _"I found the letter you wrote me, it still smells just like you"_ Nico climbed up the car that was behind him, running up until he was standing ion the roof of the car. The cameras panned up, following his movement.

 _"Damn those sweet memories"_ Nico stretched both his arms out before abruptly looking down at Sebastian and Kimi, grinning.

 _"How do you, how do you sleep?"_ Nico ran back down and slid forward on his knees just as the music ended, blowing a kiss to the camera.

 

"Cut, that's a rap" the director's voice boomed across the room, setting his personnel in motion. All of them making a run for the door. 

"Nico, Lewis" Toto called out to the two before walking out.

Nico walked towards them, a greeting already halfway out of his mouth when Lewis once again grabbed him by the arm and hauled him out of the room.

 

Niki laughed at the duo but proceeded to help set everything up for their shoot, leaving Sebastian to contemplate what just happened.

 

"Nico is really good" Sebastian muttered to himself.

"He's one of the best" Kimi nodded. And from the tone of his voice, Seb could tell that Kimi admired Nico.

And for some reason, that just didn't sit right with Sebastian.

"Do you like him?" 

Kimi turned and raised a brow at him.

"Do I like Nico?" Kimi asked, as if he was not sure he had heard right.

"That's what I said" Sebastian confirmed, schooling his face into a more neutral expression.

"We're not _children_." Kimi chuckled.

"You're not answering the question" Sebastian pouted, his facade breaking down by the second.

"He's my friend, Seb."

Sebastian sighed.

 

"Why do you care so much?" Kimi asked, looking much more interested than when the conversation had started.

"I don't know" Sebastian admitted, smiling when Kimi's hand returned to his shoulder like a sign of reassurance.

Like a sign that they were going to be ok.

"You're a weirdo"

 

Sebastian smacked him on the arm.

There was nothing else that needed to be said.


	6. V: His Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, Kimi doesn't know what kind of Milk to get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back, this time with Lewis singing Neyo's "His Mistakes".  
> Inspired by the fuss the Brocedes boys kicked up in Shanghai.  
> I hope they work it out.
> 
> Thanks for reading. :D

_**V: His Mistakes** _

* * *

 

_So why do I feel like it’s all just a show?_

* * *

 

The first time Sebastian is attacked by a fan he is heading out the door to get groceries.

“Sebastian, sign my b-”

Sebastian shut the door loudly before the fan could raise her shirt, his eyes wide as he pressed his back firmly against the front door just in case.

“Who was that, Seb?” his dad asked, raising a brow while chewing his scrambled eggs. Fabian was sitting next to him chewing at his own leisurely pace, having not heard the noise because of his headphones.

“No one, just some fan” he gestured absentmindedly with his hand, his free hand going to his jeans pocket to call Niki. “I’m sure Niki can handle it”

Sebastian had just begun to dial Niki’s number when there was a knock on the door.

 

“Who is it?” Sebastian called out, afraid it was the crazy fan again.

“Is just me”

A slow smirk crept across Sebastian, he could hear Kimi’s eyes rolling already while opening the door.

Sebastian peeked his head out the front entrance, looking both directions before allowing himself to look at the Finn.

“I think I almost ran the van into your fan” Kimi said with a straight face, as if it happened to him _all the time_. And Sebastian just _had_ to smile at that. “Why am I not surprised?” Sebastian rolled his eyes and turned his phone off.

“Niki said you were going to the grocery?”

 “How did he know?” Sebastian tilted his head in confusion.

Kimi shrugged, pulling his own phone out from his jeans pocket and showing Sebastian the headline of a website entitled **_Sebastian Vettel Official_**.

 

“Your neighbor’s daughter says you are all out of milk so you will need to go grocery shopping today, she asked your dad yesterday” Kimi chuckled at the incredulous look on Sebastian’s face.

“I’ve only recorded _two_ singles” Sebastian blushed, scrolling down to find pictures of him leaving the house to grab the mail and the morning newspaper. Kimi gave him a pat on the back, still smirking like Sebastian is on an episode of _I Get That A Lot_ and he’s thoroughly amused.

“Better if you get used to it now, let’s go”

Kimi’s cellphone buzzed in Sebastian’s hands.

It was a text from Niki.

 

_From: Niki Lauda_

_To: Kimi Raikkonen_

_You’re late, bring Sebastian._

 

“I think you’re already late” Sebastian informed, ignoring the fluttering in his stomach when Kimi got closer to see the text.

Kimi took the phone and started typing.

 

_Will be there soon._

**_Message Sent!_ **

 

“Let’s go” Kimi shut his phone off and headed for the van.

“Are we headed for the studio?” Sebastian asked, pulling on his jacket.

“No, you need groceries. Studio later.” Kimi said, shutting the door of his van.

“But Niki said-” Sebastian protested, climbing into the passenger’s seat.

“Niki can wait” Kimi smiled, turning on the ignition and waving at something past Sebastian.

The German turned, only to see his dad waving at them.

 

“Try to have him home by 9:30 and stay out of trouble, alright?” Norbert Vettel said, winking at his son.

“It’s not like it’s a date or anything” Sebastian whined, attempting to keep his expression indignant. But Kimi smiled wider, taking that as a challenge.

“Will try to have him back in time for dinner this time, Mr. Vettel” Kimi said in an overly kind tone, making Norbert laugh.

“You can call me Norbert, Kimi. Have fun!”

Sebastian groaned, sinking into his seat.

“Would rather not, take care Mr. Vettel” Kimi waved again before pulling out of the driveway.

 

“You like to embarrass me, don’t you?” Sebastian murmured, running a hand down his face in exasperation. Sometimes he really _really_ wished he wasn’t so _done_ for the Finn.

“Only to make your face red” Kimi grinned.

“Shouldn’t we be heading to the studio?” Sebastian said, hoping to divert the conversation to something safer. Hopefully, something that didn’t make him think he had any kind of chance with Kimi Raikkonen because while the man tended to relax around Sebastian he doubts the Finn is in any way attracted to men _._

Kimi raised a brow at him as if to say _“the groceries?”_

“We can get them after” Sebastian shrugs, pulling his cellphone out of his jeans pocket again so he had something to focus on other than Kimi’s face. “What was the URL for that website?” Sebastian asked.

Kimi snorts while turning right at the intersection, ignoring the glare Sebastian had aimed at him.

“We Love Sebastian Vettel dot com”

 

* * *

 

 

They ended up at the grocery store anyway.

“What kind of milk do you get?” Kimi asked, holding a different brand of milk in each hand while Sebastian continued to consciously pull at the collar of his jacket.

“The paparazzi don’t bother you?” Sebastian asked, still scrolling through the fan site to see if more of their pictures were being posted mindlessly on the internet. Most of them were grainy and hard to make out but still Sebastian refreshed the page every five minutes.

“No, one of each then” Kimi said, dropping both of the milk cartons into the basket hanging from his arm. Sebastian took out the low fat milk carton, his heart lifting when a small smile broke out on Kimi’s face.

 

**_"This is DJ Robbie and this next song is coming to you from Lewis Hamilton, His Mistakes"_ **

_"Do I remind you of the pain that he put you through, girl?"_

 

Kimi grunted, obviously bothered by the song choice.

"This one was for Lewis' girlfriend? Nicole?" Sebastian asked, pointing at the speakers.

"More like Nico" Kimi muttered in a voice so low that Sebastian almost didn't catch it.

_"Is that the reason I'm to blame before I do it?"_

 

Almost.

"Nico?" Sebastian hissed out in surprise.

"He has been in love with Nico for a long time, yes" Kimi rolled his eyes, picking up a few cans of Red Bull Energy Drink. Sebastian continued to stare at the Finn, trying to process this information.

_"Is it because he treated you badly I always stand accused?"_

 

"So, they were together?" Sebastian asked softly, making sure that the paparazzi didn't hear.

"No, Lewis never realized it. He never knew that Nico liked him too until Nico gave up. Coke or Sprite?" Kimi asked, lifting the bottles to Sebastian's face for inspection but the German only stared at him.

"Does Lewis still like Nico?" Sebastian asked, taking the Coke bottle and placing it in the basket gently.

_"Protecting yourself from somebody else, I'm not who's hurting you"_

 

"I don't know" Kimi shrugged, putting the bottle of sprite back on the shelf. 

Sebastian looked down, suddenly feeling bad for the Brit and understanding his sour mood the other day.

_ "And it's killing me, girl, knowing you compare me to **him** " _

 

"Hey"

Sebastian looked up.

“Bread?” Kimi asked, gesturing to the bread and dairy isle.

Sebastian shook his head.

“Ice Cream” he said, Kimi’s smile turning into a full megawatt grin as they speed walked to the coolers at the back of the store.

Kimi just managed to win their little race by a couple of steps and raised a packet of Magnum Classic in triumph but Sebastian thought it was worth it nevertheless just to hear the Finn’s delighted laughter.

“Admit it, I am faster than you”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and shoved the Finn to the side, taking a plain orange Popsicle from the freezer before making their way to the check-out counter. He hadn’t really wanted an ice cream, that was Kimi’s thing, but the Popsicle would tide him over until lunch.

“Shut up and take the stuff out of the basket” Sebastian muttered, refreshing the website again on his cellphone. There was a new article at the very top of the page.

“Must be what Niki wanted to talk about” Kimi muttered, once again shamelessly invading Sebastian’s space. Sebastian only nodded. He supposes he should pardon Kimi for that since Sebastian’s been invading Kimi’s personal space since Day One of his rise to fame.

 

Sebastian tapped on the article title and was shocked to see the headline.

“Seb?” Kimi asked, tapping on the German’s shoulder.

Sebastian passed the phone over to him to pay for the groceries.

 

**Lewis Hamilton announces upcoming single with Sebastian Vettel.**

 

_I love you, girl, but I refuse to stay... paying for his mistakes._


	7. VI: Time Of My Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, facts are straight but Lewis is not.

**VI: Time Of My Life**  

* * *

 

_I’ve got fridge full of champagne,_

_And I’m hanging out with Lil’ Wayne._

* * *

 

“Are you sure he’s alright? We’ve been here for a bit.” Sebastian asked, nudging at Niki.

“A bit? **_A bit_**?! We’ve been waiting for half an hour. He said he’d _be_ here.” Niki hissed, jabbing irritably at his cellphone. “Toto has to learn to control his client” Niki muttered, shoving his phone in his pocket and beathing deeply.

“At least Kimi’s on time for his session today” he said, smirking a little at Sebastian.

“Yeah, good for him” Sebastian replied, fiddling with the microphone that he and Lewis were supposed to be using for the single. “Good for him? _Please,_ you mean **you’re** good for him” Niki rolled his eyes.

“What?” Sebastian said, the pitch of his voice rising at how ludicrous that sounded.

“You _are_ , Sebastian. You’re good for him. I’m not blind.” Niki said, gesturing idly with his hands.

“I don’t see your point” Sebastian retorted, trying to focus on anything besides the earnestness in Niki Lauda’s eyes and the warmth of affection in his heart.

“Must I spell it out?”

Sebastian decided that maybe silence was the way to make Niki stop but Niki only took this as a yes.

“Nobody has ever been able to haul Kimi out of the recording room before he finishes his song except for when you and he went out to brainstorm for I Don’t Care. Kimi has never replied to any messages except for when you were with him. Kimi has never let anyone here meet any of his family, especially his nephews. He is never on time or early for sessions, he’s never been less than five minutes late since he met you except for the time you both went for milk at the grocery-” Niki pointed out, counting each of his points with his fingers as Sebastian’s face grew redder and redder.

“Wait, how did you know we went for milk?” Sebastian asked, eager to change the subject.

“Ever wonder who put up your fansite?” Niki raised a brow at Sebastian. “ _You know who put up my fansite_??” Sebastian’s eyes widened.

“Of course I know because it was James who put it up” Niki groaned at the memory.

“James, your husband?”

“James, my husband.”

“But why?” Sebastian asked, ignoring the way Niki rubbed at his face with both of his hands in exasperation. “Kimi _told_ him to” Niki explained.

“Why would Kimi do _that_?” Sebastian asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

“For Christ’s sake, because he’s smi-”

 

“Sebastian?”

Both the German and the Austrian turned in time to catch Lewis entering the recording room.

“Are we ready to start or what? I have the notes.” Lewis said, shrugging off his expensive looking coat.

“Right, we’ll talk later?” Sebastian asked while Lewis passed the sheet music off to the rest of the band before settling behind the other microphone next to Sebastian. Niki only nodded and stood off quietly to the side.

“I highlighted your lines, you good to start?” Lewis said, shoving the paper towards Sebastian.

Sebastian took the paper and scanned it, nodding. It shouldn’t be hard, he only had a couple of lines. But he was surprised at how imposing Lewis was in real life.

“Okay, let’s go then” he cued for the band to start and put his headphones on while Sebastian did the same.

The people in the other booth set up a smooth low base as Lewis began to sing.

 

“ _I knew my rent was gon' be late about a week ago. I worked my ass off, but I still can't pay it though._ ” Lewis clutched the microphone, muttering into the microphone and nodding his head to the music. “ _But I got just enough to get up in this club. Have me a good time, before my time is up._ ” Lewis smirked, pointing at Sebastian.

“ _Ooh I want the time of my life_ ” Sebastian sang, carefully following the tune Lewis set. “ _Oh baby, Ooh give me the time of my life_ ” he sang again, turning to Lewis who gave him a thumbs up.

Lewis let out a quiet laugh and loosened himself up for the rap.

“ _Tonight I'm a lose my mind. Better get yours cause I'm gonna get mine._ ” Lewis jumped up, shouting into the microphone. “ _Party every night like my last_ ” he took Sebastian’s hand, eliciting a surprised laugh from the German, and twirled him around.  

“ _Mommy know the drill, shake that **ass**_ ” Lewis grinned.

Sebastian raised a brow and frowned at how sick Lewis sounded, which only caused Lewis to grin wider.

“ _Go ahead baby let me see what you got! You know you got the biggest booty in this spot._ ” Lewis stuck his tongue out at him mockingly.

No, Lewis was definitely up to something.

 

“What is your client doing?” Niki hissed at Toto.

“I am just as surprised as you” Toto retorted, attempting to walk away but Niki wasn’t going to let him go anytime soon.

“You’re not surprised at all, he’s pulled shit like this before. You should have taken a look at his work-”

 

“Stop” Sebastian said, interrupting the session and gaining skeptic glances from the band and the agents.

“What the _hell_ , Vettel?” Lewis glared at the German.

“Your lyrics are horrible. Is this all you’re made of, Lewis? Is this you?” Sebastian said calmly, gesturing to the paper full of nothing. “Are you really so heartless? Is that it? Is this about you being in pain?” he continued, ignoring the growling that erupted from the pit of Lewis’ stomach.

“You shut up, you nosy bastard. You don’t know anything” Lewis muttered, clearly it hasn’t been a very good day for him. The band and the tech crew looked on helplessly as Lewis stalked towards Sebastian who continued to stand his ground.

“Tell me the truth if you really want to work with me, is this about Nico?”

“You little _shit_ ” Lewis lunged at the German, pinning him to the wall with his hands around Sebastian’s throat. Toto and Niki jumped up to try and pry Lewis off but the Brit only glared at them. “Get off or I’ll break his neck” Niki and Toto backed away slowly.

“Get out, everyone”

“We aren’t going to leave” Niki said, defiantly.

“Do it” Sebastian said, clutching at Lewis’ wrists. Niki looked at him as if he was out of his mind but Sebastian only nodded, his eyes trained solely on Lewis. “I can handle this” Sebastian added, ignoring the scoff Lewis let out.

“Alright, but you have to put Sebastian down.” Niki said firmly, as if he was still in control of the situation even if he was so clearly not. Sebastian envied that about Niki. He always had confidence.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll put your superstar down, now go.” Lewis said, waiting for everyone to file out of the room before putting Sebastian down. “Who told you?” he asked.

“About Nico?” Sebastian laughed, rubbing his hands against his throat. “Kimi did”

“Of course, of course he would know about that. And yet he doesn’t see. He still doesn’t _see_.” Lewis sat down on the floor and crossed his arms, clearly agitated. “He doesn’t see what?” Sebastian asked, tentatively sitting down in front of the disturbed Britton.

“He doesn’t **_see_**.” Lewis prolonged the word as if it was the answer to everything but Sebastian remained confused. “I don’t understand, why don’t you just confess to Nico if you so obviously love him?” Sebastian asked, trying to reach out to Lewis.

“You idiot. Because he’s in love with someone else. I never looked twice at him, never saw that it was Nico, until it was too late. He loves someone _else_ , are you happy?” Lewis yelled, the tone of his voice dropping from barely concealed grief.

“In love with who?”

Lewis took a deep breath and stared at Sebastian.

“Kimi _fucking_ Raikkonen”

 

Sebastian blinked.

Lewis blinked.

Sebastian blinked some more.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Lewis sniffled, pulling his coat towards him and dropping his gaze to his hands to avoid Sebastian’s probing stare.

“I don’t understand. Kimi doesn’t like Nico that way.” Sebastian clarified, placing a hand carefully on Lewis’ knee to comfort him.

“Still doesn’t change anything. I love him, he loves Kimi…”

Lewis looked up at him, willing the tears away because damn if he was going to let himself cry in front of Sebastian Vettel.

“And Kimi loves _you_.”

Sebastian blinked again.

“And, clearly, you love him” Lewis chuckled. “We are all fucked” he added, causing Sebastian to laugh along with him.

 

“Wow, are you okay to continue or should I tell your agent that we can reschedule?” Sebastian asked, not quite sure how to respond to Lewis’ claims.

“Let’s just go with something else, you good to write something?” Lewis asked, smiling a little.

“Sure, we’ll need to say that I punched you really hard and you ended up crying though” Sebastian grinned.

“In your dreams” Lewis laughed as they both got up to get their agents and the crew.

“Hey Sebastian”

“Yeah” Sebastian turned, his hand hovering over the doorknob.

“Thanks” Lewis said, sticking his tongue out at the German.

“Hah, no problem _Nico_ ” he retorted, sticking his tongue out at Lewis and laughing when Niki stared at the both of them surprised that they managed not to kill each other.

 


	8. VII: Thinking Out Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, Heikki has questions that go unanswered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this didn't suck too bad. I know I've really been dragging this out but hopefully you guys will stick around to find out just why Kimi keeps everyone at arm's length.
> 
> And if you want to get a clearer mental image of what Sebastian and Hanna looked like dancing you can check out the music video for "Thinking Out Loud". (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA)

**VII: Thinking Out Loud**

 

* * *

 

_I can try real hard,_

_I can try to pretend,_

_That all these dreams make any sense_

_Without you._

 

* * *

 

 

“That’s it? You didn’t kill each other?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes as he extended his arms towards Heikki and Hanna. He met the duo when he was filming Lego House and when Sebastian isn’t somewhere killing time with Kimi he spends his down time rehearsing with them.

Sebastian hadn’t told Kimi about it, but his new single – his third one – was already in the works. His first single - Be Your Everything - hadn't been much of a sucess but his second single - Lego House, which he wrote for Kimi - was a splash hit. Lego House is the reason he ended up featuring in Lewis' song in the first place.

His single with Lewis was going to take a bit longer, giving him time to work on this particular project. It was something he was messing around with while coming up with a new song with Lewis.

The Brit was surprisingly helpful once the entire Nico thing was out in the open. They managed to put together a decent song called “Same Love”.

“You thought- Why is everyone so surprised?” Sebastian asked, letting his arm stretch as Hanna twirled away from him. He just managed to catch her by the shoulder when she twirled back. He sighed in relief. The first time they tried it their heads knocked together loudly.

“It’s just that Lewis has been known to lash out.” Hanna suggested, smiling a little at Seb’s small improvements.

He and Lewis became strange friends, which Kimi and Niki didn’t like at all, but a lot of people were still really skeptical about it.

 “That’s all?” Sebastian asked, making sure not to step on Hanna’s feet and only take _one_ step.

“Well, the staff made it seem so intense. Stretch out a little more.” Heikki raised a brow, eyeing the two as they waltzed. Hanna moved Sebastian’s opposite hand with her left hand before going back to the original holding position. Sebastian really didn’t know what to call it.

“You know I’m no good at this.” Sebastian winced as Hanna pushed his chin up with her hand, delicately. The only reason Hanna was there was because out of all the back-up dancers he knew Hanna the best.

“Why do you think I’m here?” Heikki raised a brow at him, moving their hands so that they rested squarely on Sebastian’s chest before letting them execute the next move.

“Kimi _bribed_ you, Heikki.” Sebastian rolled his eyes, remembering the hushed conversation the two blondes had while Sebastian was rehearsing for Lego House.

“No, he didn’t” Heikki said, incredibly deadpan about it. He groaned and told Sebastian to repeat the part where he was supposed to cup Hanna’s cheek in one hand and catch her when she twirled with the other hand. That was one of the trickiest parts but Sebastian just about managed it.

“Well, I wouldn’t know. The entire conversation was in _Finnish_.” Sebastian pouted, leveling the Finn with his best accusatory look.

“That’s what you get for speaking German with Nico Rosberg.” Heikki grinned, watching gleefully as Seb missed a step and almost tumbled to the ground.

“He **told** you about that?” Sebastian scrambled to catch Hanna just as she threw her head back. He was trying really hard to be snappy but Heikki kept distracting him with his stare and his knowing-ass look.

“That’s practically fraternizing with the enemy, Seb” Heikki teased, actually impressed whe Sebastian managed to complete the next set of steps without tripping. “He was talking to Nico too and we work for the same company.” Sebastian raised Hanna up with surprising grace. He was kind of getting the hang of it.

“Everyone works for F1 but you’re in a different division. Ferrari doesn’t fraternize with Mercedes unless they’re high profile, like Kimi.” Heikki explained, squinting when Sebastian put Hanna down and stopped dancing.

“You don’t get it, Nico _likes_ Kimi.” Sebastian frowned.

“Just like Rob down at Music & Lights likes Felipe from Williams and like Fernando at the McLaren division likes Mark from Porsche.” Hanna pointed  out, a little sarcastically.

“You’re not making any sense.” Sebastian shook his head at his weird friends.

“ _You’re_ the one not making any sense. It’s a crush. It shouldn’t mean so much to you unless…”

Heikki stopped, staring at Sebastian as if a giant spider had crawled onto the top of his head.

“Unless what?” Sebastian asked, watching as the same look dawned on Hanna’s face. “No way” she laughed, clutching at her stomach with both of her hands.

“What?”

“You _like_ him” Heikki half-yelled, his voice filling up the room. Sebastian choked out a laugh.

“Of course, I like Kimi. He’s my friend.” He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, really they were ridiculous and weird and just _weird_.

“Grow up, you _like_ like him.” Hanna added, shoving him sideways. “How does saying it twice change anything?” Sebastian waved the thought away, picking up a towel and wiping his face with it.

“Jesus Christ.” Heikki slapped himself on the forehead. “Nope, just me” Sebastian grinned.

 “You’re an idiot.” The Finn added, tossing a bottle of water at Seb. “He’s not going to figure it out anytime soon” Hanna mused, leaning on Heikki as they both watched Sebastian down half of the bottle’s contents in one go.

“There’s no harm in trying to make him see sense.” Heikki shrugged.

“Can we get back to the song?” Sebastian asked, tossing both the towel and the bottle at his choreographer.

“Have you even told Kimi about this?”

 

“Told me about what?”

Lo and behold, Kimi stood by the door of the rehearsal room with his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised in lieu of wanting an explanation.

“About this new exercise we are trying that Heikki taught me, right Heikki?” Sebastian said, immediately trying to salvage the situation but the smile on both Heikki and Hanna’s faces gave them away.

“You’re recording some new single that is top secret, I know. Hi Hanna.” He waved at the her, bemused at how shocked she seemed to be that he even bothered to say hi. "So, why won't you tell me?" Kimi raised a brow, his hand leisurely brushing the speaker with his fingers. He was eyeing Sebastian's cellphone with a look of mischief.

"Nothing, it's just something I was messing around with" Sebastian shrugged it off, hoping that Kimi would leave his phone alone if he showed little interest in it. "With Lewis?" Kimi asked, swiping at the screen. Sebastian really should put a pass-code on that thing.

"I may have helped him with a song" he said, inching towards Kimi. The Finn was standing there, eyes squinted at Sebastian's cellphone.

"Never Knew I Needed?"

"It's for Nico" he explained. Sebastian managed not to sigh in relief. That one really _was_ something he wrote for Lewis.

"What's the song you were dancing to?" Kimi prodded, scrolling through the songs on Sebastian's phone. He obviously wasn't satisfied. He was more amused than anything, his eyes skipping over 'Lego House' as he continued to scroll.

"It's nothing" 

"It's called _Thinking Out Loud_ " Sebastian turned and glared at Hanna who only donned a smirk. _Traitor_.

 

"Thinking Out Loud..." Kimi muttered, tapping at the screen of Sebastian's phone so that the opening bars of the song started playing. "Show me." Kimi said, rewinding so that the song started at the very beginning.

"I don't think we're ready" Sebastian scratched at the back of his neck. "Don't be ridiculous. You'll do fine." Hanna insisted, getting into position. He placed Sebastian's hand on her waist and one arm on his neck, noting the way Kimi's eyes flashed with something akin to outrage. She wondered how Sebastian could miss the way Kimi was looking at him.

_Love is blind_ , she tutted quietly to herself.

"You're ready. He's ready." Heikki smirked, moving so that Sebastian and Hanna could have space to dance.

"But-"

Kimi cleared his throat.

"Show me." he said, smiling at Sebastian.

 

Damn him, he _knows_ Sebastian can't say no when he smiled like that.

"You owe me" he said, ignoring the way Kimi's laughter made goosebumps crawl up his skin.

"Sure"

 

Heikki rolled his eyes and took the phone from his fellow Finn, forwarding it to the part where Sebastian and Hanna left off.

_So honey now..._ Sebastian let go, doing his best to support Hanna's weight as she hung from his neck. _Take me into your lovin' arms._ He guided her wait up until she was standing to his right, turning to face him they waltzed with her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist.

He wondered idly why Kimi was being so quiet and realized that the blonde was staring at them, his eyes were dark and brooding under the artificial lighting and Sebastian looked at Hanna. His face was red. His face was very very red. There was not taking it back now. With his heart thumping in his chest, he mustered all of his willpower so that he wouldn't forget the steps. He had to get this right.

_Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars._ He took Hanna's left hand with his right and turned so that both of them were back to back as they slid down to the floor.  _Place your head on my beating heart._ Hanna turned to face him, her hand splayed across his chest again perfectly on time as Sebastian lowered himself so that he was laying down.  _I'm thinking out-_ She threw herself over him and turned, her back to him with only Sebastian's arms to support her.

_Loud._

_She gracefully stood up and turned to lean down, both hands on the opposite sides of Sebastian's face as she threw her legs into the air._ _Maybe, we-_ she dropped and Sebastian sat up.  _Found love-_ she rolled, letting Sebastian catch her arm so he could roll her back to him.

_Right-_ she sat up next to him.

_Where we are._ They laid down next to each other, grinning at each other victoriously.

 

"They're good" 

Heikki turned to Kimi, startled at the his quiet confession. He looked at his friends proudly, crossing his arms. Kimi was right to be impressed. "They worked really hard for this song." Heikki smiled, remembering how many times Sebastian fell or stepped on Hanna's feet or erased entire sections of the song to rewrite it until he was satisfied. 

It was a long hard road that they traversed together, all of it inspired by the man next to him whether or not Sebastian was going to admit it. He wasn't about to let it go to waste.

"Do you care?" he asked, his eyes glued to Sebastian and Hanna as they stood up. They were completely oblivious to the conversation the Finns were having, focused on the steps. Heikki could feel Kimi's eyes flicker to him for a fraction of a second before returning to Sebastian.

"Yes"

Heikki let out a long breath. For once he was thankful for Kimi's no-nonsense attitude towards things. But the fact that Kimi was aware of the tension between him and Sebastian made things so much easier.

"But you can't tell him." 

Heikki hazarded a look at Kimi, shocked and a bit confused.

"Why can't I?" He asked, but Kimi continued to stare at Sebastian. Something in his expression told Heikki that this had something to do with why Kimi disappeared years ago. Kimi's rumored retirement from the music industry for two years before making a come back with the Lotus Division.

This was typical Kimi. Always keeping people at arm's length. Always keeping to himself.

But none of that explains why he won't let Sebastian know that he cares.

"It's really none of your business." Kimi said in perfect monotone.

And really, Heikki had no come back for _that_.

So, with even _more_ questions than before he spoke to Kimi, he watched Sebastian and Hanna sit down as the song ended and clapped loudly for his friends.


	9. VIII: Never Knew I Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sebastian really needs a hug.
> 
> Warning: This Chapter may or may not break your heart. (I know it broke mine).

**_VIII: Never Knew I Needed_ **

* * *

  _I thought these things could make me forget_

_About you and me but you’re stuck in my head_

* * *

 

 

Sebastian doesn’t understand how Kimi can be so blind.

He danced for him, sang for him. He wrote cheesy ass love songs for him. But for some reason, the Finn won’t act. He won’t see him as anything less or more than a friend. He’s one stubborn, naïve idiot.

Or maybe he just doesn’t care.

Sebastian shook his head, he never told Heikki but he heard the bits and pieces of their conversation. And while his Finnish was passable at best he knew that Kimi cared.

He heard Kimi say he cared.

So, why wasn’t he doing anything about it?

Sebastian balled his hands into fists and shoved his notebook open.

If Kimi still doesn’t get it after this there was no other way. Sebastian will stop trying. Just one more time.

One last time.

 

“Kimi?” he poked his head into the recording studio, searching for the Finn in question. He was smiling at Seb behind a microphone, gesturing for him to come in.

“Just finishing” he shrugged, shuffling his papers a bit while the band put everything away. Sebastian breathed in as Kimi stepped out of the booth.

“Kimi, I-”

“Hey!” A voice came from behind Sebastian as a girl rushed past him, launching herself at Kimi. Sebastian blinked in surprise, expecting Kimi to gingerly pry himself away from the girl.

Kimi smiled, a wide genuine grin, before kissing her.

“Sebastian, this is Minttu. She’s my girlfriend.” The girl laughed, Kimi’s arm lying loosely around her shoulders. It shouldn’t look so right. They shouldn’t look so perfect for each other.

Sebastian turned to the drum set, thinking that the drummer must have dropped the cymbals again. But he didn’t, it was the sound of Seb’s heart collapsing in his chest. He had to get away.

He had to get away **now**.

“You had something to tell me?” Kimi asked, but Seb was already halfway out the door.

“It’s nothing, I’ll see you later.” Sebastian used up the rest of his resolve to smile convincingly at Kimi before shutting the door. He could hear bit of Finnish conversation as he walked down the hall, barely making it to where he, Hanna, and Heikki were hanging out.

“Seb? What’s wrong?” Heikki asked when Seb closed the door to the practice room and slid to his knees.

Sebastian shook his head dejectedly.

Kimi was in love with Minttu.

He was in love with Kimi.

Kimi was never his.

And only then did he break down and cry.

 

* * *

 

 

Lewis ignored the shrill ringing of his cellphone and grimaced.

It was the last day on set of the Disney movie. Yes, he was singing for a Disney Movie. The Princess and the Frog to be exact or something close to it. Really, he just wants the embarrassment to be over so he can check on Sebastian. He just managed to convince his friend to fess up to Räikkönen earlier and he wanted to know how that shitfest went.

Even worse was Toto was supposed to be on set for this one to hear what Seb wrote for him.

Never Knew I Needed was a song he had dedicated to Nico and it said all the words he was too scared to say out loud. Toto was the only other person to know the truth about it although Niki seemed to have picked up on it as well. He needed Toto to be here.

Where the hell was he?

“Lewis, it’s time to start” the assistant director ushered him to the green room, only a single microphone in front of him. The music was already recorded so all that was left was to sing.

He can do this, he doesn’t need Toto.

The music started up and he slid his headphones on as everyone around him began to disappear. His mind focused on someone who was far away from where he was. Always out of reach, but at the same time always right in front of him.

 _“Ohh. For the way you changed my plans.”_ He crooned, almost laughing at the screen in front of him replaying parts of the animated movie. _“For being the perfect distraction”_

 

_“Nico, are you concentrating?” he asked the laughing German. They were shooting a commercial about car safety. “You were distracting me” Nico shoved him. “ **You** were distracting **me** , man!” they both laughed, earning glares from the director for deviating from the script._

 

 _“For the way you took the idea that I have of everything that I wanted to have”_ Lewis held the mic stand delicately, remembering the brush of Nico’s hand against his as they walked down the corridors. The giddy feeling he used to ignore when they would laugh at jokes only they understood. “ _And made me see there was something missing, oh yeah”_

 _“For the ending of my first begin and for the rare and unexpected friend”_ Lewis sang, clutching the microphone in both hands.

 _“Ooh, yeah yeah, ooh, yeah yeah”_ his voice hummed back at him.

The lights came on, bathing him in a yellowish glow. He raised a brow at the director in confusion but kept singing.

 _“For the way you're something that I'd never choose. But at the same time, something I don't wanna lose.”_ Lewis shut his eyes, reaching out to the image of Nico in his head and feeling the song. “ _And never wanna be without ever again”_

He opened his eyes and held back a gasp. 

_“You're the best thing I never knew I needed”_

And, as if Lewis had dreamed him to life, he was there.

Nico.

 

 _“So when you were here I had no idea”_ Lewis kept singing, not quite knowing what to do otherwise. _“You the best thing I never knew I needed”_

The German stared at him, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Toto stood next to him, his suit ruffled from what was most likely a tussle with Nico. It wasn’t very easy to get him in the same room as Lewis so Toto must have been outside, dragging Nico in this entire time.

 _“So now it's so clear, I need you here always…”_ he sang, a bit breathlessly. He must be an amazing artist, he had no idea how he was still singing. How can he still be singing with Nico staring at him?

_“My accidental happily ever after”_

Nico smiled, chuckling to himself like a real dork. It surprised Lewis how much that one action made him feel so much relief that he allowed himself to smile back a little. _“The way you smile and how you comfort me with your laughter”_

Toto rolled his eyes, his cellphone out to check on his text messages.

**From: Susie Wolff**

**Did you do it? :)**

Toto stared at the text and smiled before replying.

**From: Toto Wolff**

**Yes, Nico is here with me now. You can tell Niki I did the thing he wanted.**

He shut his phone and turned to look at Nico. The kid was smiling wider than he had ever seen him smile. And for some reason, that made Toto feel a little better about being a part of Niki Lauda’s cockamamie schemes.

 

 _“Who knew that I could be”_ Lewis sang, bobbing his head as the backup singers echoed him. _“So unexpectedly”_ he smiled at the trio of girls behind the scenes.

 _“So unexpectedly”_ they echoed. Nicole, their leader, gave him a knowing look.

 _“Undeniably happier”_ he grinned at Nico, dancing around a bit. He reveled in how Nico just barely held back a riotous laugh, his hand covering his mouth in an attempt to remain composed. _“Sitting with you right here, right here next to me!”_ he pointed at the blonde who in return rolled his eyes.

 _“You’re the best!”_ he pried the microphone off the stand and started walking.

 _“You're the best thing I never knew I needed”_ Nicole and the girls sang.

 _“Said I needed!”_ Lewis smiled, approaching the rather startled looking Nico and handing him the microphone. _“So when you were here I had no idea”_ Nico sang softly, shaking his head at Lewis and his childish antics.

 _“You're the best thing I never knew I needed”_ They both sang, Lewis winking at Toto.

Toto rolled his eyes again and walked away, not wanting to take part in this silliness.

 _“So now it's so clear I need you here always”_ they turned to face each other, suddenly very aware of how close they were. _“Now it's so clear, I need you here always…”_ Lewis crooned, staring into his best friend’s eyes and leaning his forehead against the blonde’s.

“I have one question.” Nico muttered, his breath teasingly warm on Lewis lips. “Yeah?”

Nico licked his lips and looked at him.

“Was that song for me? Because if it’s not then I’ll be very disappointed.”

 

Lewis laughed and cupped Nico’s cheek with his free hand, drawing him in for a searing kiss.

Or at least, what was a searing kiss before they were interrupted by Lewis’ cellphone.

Lewis sighed.

“You wanna get that?” Nico chuckled, amused at how frustrated Lewis was.

“Whoever this is better have an awesome reason to-”

 

“Lewis?” The Brit blinked.

“Sebastian?” he asked worriedly, hearing the tattered breathing from the other end of the line. Nico leaned in to listen. “What’s wrong?”

Please, don’t say it. Please don’t-

“It’s Kimi” Sebastian sniffled, he clearly has cried within the last few hours.

Lewis and Nico winced.

Lewis really should have picked up his phone.

Nico snagged the cellphone right from Lewis’ grip.

“Don’t worry, Sebastian. We’ll be right there.” He assured his fellow German before bolting out the door with Lewis right behind him.


	10. IX: Give Me Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, we find out that the only reason Kimi is being an asshole is because he's actually being an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long. I had an idea for this all planned out from the beginning but I deviated. I really harshly deviated. hope it still turned out ok though.

**_IX: Give Me Love_ **

* * *

 

_I’m a loser,_

_If I lose him._

* * *

 

“Sebastian”

Seb groaned, turning over in his bed. He so wasn’t ready for company. He didn’t even have a shirt on. Fabian must have left the door open on the way to his sleepover or something. Their parents were on some cruise or other for the week so Sebastian was so sure no one would bother him. He even had time to finish the song he was writing.

“Seb, we’re coming in.”

Clearly, he was wrong.

“Go away” he groaned, throwing a pillow at the intruders as soon as the first one was through the door. Lewis laughed, picking the ridiculous white fluffy thing off the floor.

“You throw like a girl” Lewis teased, throwing the pillow at Sebastian’s face. The German whined, rubbing at his droopy eyes. It was too early for this.

“You’re supposed to be nice to me, I just got my heart broken” he moaned, trying to feel the bed for his cellphone.

“You’re an artist, Seb. Artists are always heartbroken. I mean, Taylor Swift. She’s always writing songs about losing out on love. Heck, _look at Nico_. So desperate to have his heartbroken he had this crazy crush on Räikk- Ow!” Lewis yelled, rubbing at the tender spot on his side where Nico jabbed him with his elbow, rolling his eyes at the still bitter Briton.

“What did you say?” Sebastian asked, not quite catching the last part since Lewis started muttering to himself. “Nothing Seb” Lewis said, still poking at his side in an overly dramatic fashion.

_‘Probably to gain Nico’s attention’_ Sebastian thought, shrugging the thought away.

“He’s right though, Seb” Nico nodded, picking Sebastian’s iPhone up from the floor and handing it to Lewis in case Seb decided to do something crazy like call Kimi. Sebastian pouted in reply.

“If I was right, why’d you jab me?” Lewis muttered dejectedly.

“ _Anyway_ ” Nico rolled his eyes again. “You can always use that for your music. Try to forget about him, yeah?” Nico smiled encouragingly, shooting Sebastian a look that seemed like sympathy but was actually understanding. And suddenly, Sebastian remembered.

Nico, of all people, would be able to understand him the most.

Because Nico knew what it was like to constantly be shot down by Kimi Räikkönen.

 

_One night and one more time_

_Thanks for the memories_

_Even though they weren't so great_

_"He tastes like you only sweeter, "_

Sebastian winced, staring horrified at his cellphone vibrating in Lewis’ hand playing Kimi’s song. He turned over, pulling his comforter over his head and praying for the Earth to swallow him whole.

“I should change that” Sebastian wiped at his eyelids, griping his comforter closer when someone – probably Lewis – tried to pull at it.

“Can I?”

Sebastian peeked out from under the sheet, his eyes connecting with Nico’s as his fellow German gestured to the iPhone. Seb only nodded, letting Nico take the call. He was **not** in the right state to be answering phone calls right now.

 

Nico gingerly picked the phone up from Lewis hand and swiped at the screen, holding it up close to his ear but putting it on loud speaker so that everyone could hear.

“Hello?” Nico greeted, full of cheer.

“Nico?”

The room stilled at the sound of a very familiar Finnish monotone.

7 Billion people in the world and the caller just _happened_ to be Kimi fucking Räikkönen.

“Yeah, it’s me. What do you want?” Nico replied quickly as soon as he regained higher brain function – which was at least 0.3 seconds faster than Lewis and Seb – and tried the best he could not to sound peeved at Kimi’s call.

“I heard about you and Hamilton. Congratulations.” Nico pulled the phone away from his face and blinked, as if staring at it would make it explain why the usually laconic Finn was making small talk. Lewis raised a brow at his Nico while Seb remained strangely quiet, contemplative.

“Thanks? Is that it?” Nico asked, not really believing that Kimi would call for that.

“ _What the hell?_ ” Lewis mouthed, and Nico just shrugged in response.

 

“Sebastian has a performance at the Arena, eight o’ clock pm. He is okay? Or should I tell James to cancel?” Nico turned to Sebastian who thought about it before firmly shaking his head.

“No, he’s fine. He’ll be there” Sebastian grinned, giving Nico a thumbs up before getting up to fix his bed. Lewis shifted, helping Sebastian straighten out the covers almost drawing a laugh out of Nico.

“Good. Can I talk to him?” Nico could hear Kimi faintly swallow and almost handed the phone to Sebastian when he saw both him and Lewis shaking their heads vigorously. Lewis pointed at the door while Sebastian pointed to the bathroom.

And Nico? He ran a hand through his hair, _frustrated_.

_‘This is what I get for being the most clear-headed person here’_ he internally mused.

“He’s taking a shower before we leave” nico answered, glaring a little at Lewis and Seb.

“Oh” Kimi said, sounding a little crestfallen.

Kimi Raikkonen, the Iceman, crestfallen. Nico shook his head. He must have heard him wrong.

“Tell him I’ll see him there, yeah?” Kimi continued and yes, Nico thought, he _did_ sound crestfallen. Kind of like someone took his ice cream from him and dropped it right in front of him.

“Serves him right, the wanker” Lewis muttered, earning another jab to the side from Nico.

“Right. We’ll see you there. Bye!” Nico answered hurriedly before hanging up, tossing Seb’s phone on the younger German’s fully made bed. “What are you singing?” he asked, raising a brow at Sebastian.

Seb continued to browse his sheet music, seemingly content with its composition.

“You told me to do what Taylor Swift does” he got up and pulled a guitar out from under his bed. “That’s what I’m going to do” he grinned, shoving the sheet music into Lewis arms and leaving to take a shower.

He had a show to do.

 

* * *

 

 

Sebastian breathed, the pounding of his heart drowning out the riotous screams of his fans. He had so many people to thank. James and Niki believed in him. Hanna and Heikki helped him learn to shine. His parents raised him right. But, as mutinous as his thoughts were, he knew none of his songs would have reached any of their hearts without Kimi.

Before Kimi, he was a scared shrivel of a boy. After Kimi, he stands before hundreds of people a man ready for action.

A man ready to put on a show.

“Are you sure about this Seb?” Nico asked and Sebastian only nodded, handing the instrument to the blonde. Lewis shoved Nico sideways, managing to get a smirk out of Nico before both of them turned back to Seb.

“We’re with you” Lewis agreed, stealing the drumsticks from the drum player.

And they were ready.

 

**_“Ladies and Gentlemen, Sebastian Vettel!”_ **

 

A hush sweeped through the crowds as Sebastian walked out, sitting on a high stool in the middle of the stage with his acoustic guitar in hand. He waited for the silence, for the single spotlight to shine on him, before starting to play.

His fingers danced with the strings, playing their solemn tune until a violin chimed in. Nico. From behind the curtain he and Lewis were playing instruments of their own. Wordlessly, they echoed at Seb, coaxing him on as he began to sing softly.

_Give me love like her,_ he opened his eyes and looked lazily up at the audience. He prayed for his eyes to stop wandering. To stop looking for Kimi. But, as if drawn to him like a magnet, their eyes connected. For a split second, Sebastian thought he could forget. He thought he could run to the Finn at the edge of the stage with Niki and James. _'Cause lately I've been waking up alone._

_Paint splattered teardrops on my shirt,_ he shook his head. Stupid. This is what brought him here. Loving Kimi was something he couldn’t control, something he couldn’t stop. _Told you I'd let them go,_ something he couldn’t let go of. His face to the audience but with his thoughts on his heart Sebastian continued to croon.

 

* * *

 

“Kimi?”

The Finn snapped out of his reverie, glaring at the tall blonde man standing next to him. His eyes roved, trying to find something he couldn’t quite explain.

_And that I'll fight my corner. Maybe tonight I'll call ya,_

“Minttu is with Niki getting something to drink” James mused, ruffling Kimi’s hair. Despite the answer, Kimi still looked lost and that just made James sad.

“Am not looking for her.” Kimi muttered, surprising even himself at the admission. As if he had given away a piece of his heart and he had no idea how to fit it back in.

_‘You poor clueless child’_ James thought, pointing at Sebastian on stage still lost in his song.

_After my blood-_

“When are you going to stop playing around with him?” he asked, frowning at Kimi who stared straight like a bull who refused to accept that he was hopelessly trapped.

“Leave me alone, I know-”

“No” James said firmly, gaining Kimi’s attention. “You don’t know what you’re doing. Because if you were smart you’d stop before you hurt Miss Virtanen. Before you hurt yourself.” He continued, turning back to Sebastian, catching the tears rolling down his face when no one else saw it. James sighed.

_Turns into alcohol,_

“If you ever cared, you’d stop before you hurt young Sebastian” he whispered, feeling Kimi’s gaze drop back onto the German. James turns to watch Kimi’s reaction but is surprised to find Kimi looking at him, his eyes full of grief.

“Is too late-” he turned around, facing away from Sebastian as he tried to walk away. Every step looked like Kimi was stepping on knives. James stared at the Finn, shaky and heavy on his feet, confused.

_No, I just wanna hold ya._

“I already did” Kimi muttered before vanishing into the shadows to find Minttu.

 

* * *

 

 

_Give a little time to me or burn this out,_

“Nico” Lewis hissed at the blonde who was too busy concentrating on his violin playing.

_We'll play hide and seek to turn this around,_

“ _Nico_ ” Lewis stage-whispered, handing off his drum sticks to the drummer and shoving the guy into his seat. Nic rolls his eyes, continues to play because Lewis is lazy and Nico is not. He’s going to keep playing.

_All I want is the taste that your lips allow,_

“ **Nico!** ” Lewis shouted and Nico whirled around, shoving the violin into the arms of a surprised Vivian Siebold (who _, impressively enough,_ continued to play for him).

“What??” he hissed back at his boyfriend who pointed at one of the curtains where a man wandered, looking troubled. Nico groaned.

Kimi _fucking_ Raikkonen was really starting to get on his nerves.

 

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love,_

“Hey!” Nico yelled, jogging after the shell shocked Finn with Lewis in tow.

“Nico” Kimi said, in complete monotone. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

“Aren’t you going to stay? He’s your co-worker.” Lewis asked, bristling when Raikkonen begins to laugh.

“Doesn’t sound like a convincing reason” Kimi shrugged, his hand not even coming up to scratch the back of his neck. Peculiar, Kimi was always fidgety when he spoke. It was one of his idiosyncrasies.

 

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love,_

Nico’s hands balled up into fists.

“He’s your frie-”

“We are not friends” Kimi said firmly, walking away from the spluttering shocked couple.

“You can’t mean that. You can’t be serious.” Nico shook slightly, Lewis hand firm on his upper arm.

"You can't just say that, man. Because if you do there's no taking it back." Lewis explained, chancing a look at Nico. "I know" he finished, turning back to Kimi.

 

“Am deadly serious, Princess” Kimi spat, emotionless. "We are not friends" he enunciated, leaving the room.

No fondness, no trace of care. Nothing.

And as the Finn walked away Nico wondered just why Kimi was acting this way.

_My, my, my, my, oh give me love,_

 

“Kimi may not act like he cares but he cares a lot. Too much, actually.” James said, patting both Lewis and Nico on the shoulder.

“This behavior, it’s not normal.” James shook his head, craning his head to watch Minttu and Niki walk back through the backstage entrance with bottles of cold water in hand.

Minttu, in the middle of a animated chat with Niki, stopped and stared at James while the Brit stared back. He didn’t break eye contact but when Minttu finally looked away it was to look down at her stomach then back at James.

And suddenly, it all made sense.

  _My, my, my, my, oh give me love,_

 

_My, my, my, my, give me love,_


	11. X: Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Breath by Breaking Benjamin is the first song on Seb's CD. You should listen to it after reading this chapter.]
> 
> In which, Minttu takes matters into her own hands and Vivian has some news.

**_X: Breath_ **

* * *

 

_You make me wanna shut it all down,_

_Throw it all away,_

_Cause I’m nothing if I don’t have you._

* * *

 

_Riiiiiiiiiiiing!_

“Lewis! For God’s sake-” Toto rubbed at his forehead in frustration but the singer only sighed. Yeah, this recording wasn’t going very well. He just wanted to finish so that he could have lunch with Nico.

“Yeah yeah, I’m answering it” he said because if there was anything he learned in the past few weeks it’s to always pick up the phone.

It wasn’t a good idea to leave Sebastian by himself, but the German had to get back to work. He was busy with his new single “Give Me Love” and it was a hit but Nico and Lewis were still a bit concerned for his mental state. And, for all the trouble that he caused, Kimi was barely around these days.

‘ _Probably with his girlfriend_ ’ Lewis rolled his eyes and answered the phone.

“Seb-”

“Can I talk to you?” said a voice that was very clearly _not_ Sebastian but instead very feminine and raspy.

 

“Sorry, I thought you were-” Lewis shook his head and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Of course you can talk to me, Viv.” He said in a hushed voice. He had no idea why Vivian was calling him of all people, he’d think that she would be more comfortable with Nico since Nico was the one who had her hired to be his back-up dancer.

“Is it your parents? Do they want you to go home?” Lewis asked, prompting the girl to laugh.

“No, I haven’t heard from them since I left home without their consent. It’s… something else.” She whimpered.

“You can tell me, Viv. I won’t tell Nico if you don’t want me to.” Lewis offered but it only made Vivian laugh again.

“Lewis, you can tell him because I need to ask you both a favor.” Vivian continued, still sounding a little wary. “What is it?” Lewis asked, clutching his phone a little closer to his face. He was just about to approach Toto about an early lunch when Vivian spoke.

“I’m pregnant, Lewis.” She said, and Lewis beamed at the surprisingly good news.

“That’s wonderful news, Viv. Congratulations-”

 

“I have Cancer.”

Lewis froze, his words dying in his mouth because _Cancer_. A baby. And she had **_Cancer_**.

“What- Viv, I don’t understand.” Lewis sputtered, trying to make heads of the situation.

“I’m dying, I need you and Nico.” She said, beginning to sob again. And Lewis knew he and Nico would do anything for her. Anything to help.

“I need you and Nico to take care of my baby”

* * *

 

“I never asked for this” she muttered, glaring a little when Kimi turned to look at her blankly.

“For what?” he said in his familiar monotone. Weeks of living together hadn’t changed much. Their lives were filld mostly with routine. Work, meals, sleep. Minttu never asked for it, to live with Kimi.

“I never asked for you to take responsibility” she said, crossing her arms at the man.

“You know why I have to do this” Kimi insisted, trying to grab a hold of her but she took a step back. “I’m not going to be like him” he muttered, turning away to look for his missing sheet music.

“That’s just it, you’re not. You’re not him, so why do you have to force yourself?” Minttu prodded, shadowing him.

“I am not forcing myself to do anything.” Kimi spat, picking the sheets of paper off the bedroom floor.

“You’re not happy” she said, stubbornly.

“Am happy.”

“You’re lying.” she retorted.

Kimi sighed, turning to face her again and kiss her on the cheek. “Am okay. I don’t have to be happy.” He said, before walking off. Back to his piano, most likely.

Minttu huffed, noticing the shiny object on the ground. Kimi had dropped a CD.

She picked it up, her fingers tracing the name scribbled across its smooth surface as she smiled.

_Sebastian._

* * *

 

_“Hey, this is Lewis, you’ve called me at a bad time. But I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Just wait for the beep, you’ll know what to do.”_

Sebastian sighed and hung up. Lewis must still be on set for his recording. Sebastian had long since finished his video for “Give Me Love” and had no intention of leaving his couch, his brother’s Wii console chirping to life as Seb lazily tried to beat Fabian’s score at Wii Golf. So far he’s managed to get the golf ball stuck in a sand pit 5 times and it was not going well.

Sebastian had begun to eye the sole beer bottle next to him with morbid fascination when a voice came from the front door.

“Hello? Does Sebastian Vettel live here?” the door creaked open and a dark haired woman stepped into the living room. Minttu Vertanen.

 

“Oh. Hi, Minttu right?” Sebastian tried his best to beam at her but it looked more half-hearted than anything. “Do you want anything?” he asked, scrambling to sit upright.

“No, I’m sorry to be bothering you. I just thought you would like to have this.” She stood gingerly in front of him and handed him a plain white disk with his name scrawled across it in familiar looking cursive chicken-scratch. Kimi’s handwriting.

“What is it?” Sebastian studied it, wondering if it was worth the effort to get up and put it in the DVD player.

“Kimi’s compositions, there are quite a few of them that he never released. I’ve heard the songs in it and-” Minttu fiddled with her fingers a little, patting her stomache.

“They’re for you. So, we thought you should have it.”

 

“We?” Sebastian asked, raising a brow at her.

“He didn’t tell you?” she replied, looking at Sebastian in shock.

“Didn’t tell me what?”

There was a short silence before Minttu decided to sit next to Seb. Something told him he was not going to like this.

“You know about Kimi’s parents?” she said softly, a hand still splayed carefully across her stomache.

“Niki and James-”

“No, his real parents.” Sebastian stared at her a little, causing the woman to sigh. Kimi really hadn’t told him anything. “His mom was a singer, a popular one when they met. He married her for money and left her shortly before she died.” She explained, succinctly.

“That’s horrible, but why are we talking about this?” Sebastian asked and this was it. The moment of truth. She **_had_** to tell him no matter what.

 

“I’m having a baby, Sebastian.” She said, staring into Sebastian’s slowly blinking eyes. “Kimi and I, we’ve made some mistakes. We thought one night would be somewhat harmless and we were a little drunk” she nodded to herself.

“But he’s not doing this because he loves me” she said, leaving Sebastian to put the pieces together.

“He doesn’t want to be like his dad” Sebastian whispered, finally understanding. As if the clouds were finally parting and he could see the light. Then, Minttu placed a hand on his and she smiled softly at him.

“Listen to the CD.”


	12. XI: Loser Of The Year

**_XI: Loser Of The Year_ **

_What’s the point of being on top, all the money in the world,_

_If I can’t blow it all on on you?_

_So, send the cars back, put the house on the market,_

_And my big dreams too._

_Because it’s all so clear, now without you here,_

_I’m the loser of the year._

* * *

 

 

“Are you feeling okay, Viv? Do you need anything? I can run to the store for you.” Nico fussed, busying himself with Vivian’s pillows and getting food and water. Lewis rolled his eyes at him. “Do you feel warm?”

“Nico, I’m fine. I’m just sorry I kept you guys from work today. I know Seb could use some help with _you know what_.” Vivian apologized, the German had been sulking last time she saw him. Nico was supposed to be scheduled for a shoot today but he cancelled it until further notice to look after Vivian. “You’re both always looking after me”

“Nonsense, it’s completely fun. Nico likes to fuss so it’s a nice change for him to be fussing over you instead of me or Seb.” Nico swatted Lewis on the shoulder but the Brit just kept laughing.

“Want to watch a bit of TV?” Nico asked and Vivian laughed awkwardly before nodding. Sometimes, Nico can be too much but she’s glad to have him around.

Nico turns on the TV.

**_And on other news, tonight is the release of Kimi Räikkönen’s latest album. Fans are scrambling to buy a copy as much controversy develops around it’s release. The album, now named SEB-_ **

“Lewis” Nico mutters, eyes wide in shock. “Do you know about this?” he asked a little frantically.

“No, I-” he stutters and it dawns on him, _Sebastian_. Did Seb see this? Kimi would never-

Someone’s phone rings and for once it’s not Lewis’.

“This is Nico” he answers, pacing the corner of the room. He freezes upon recognizing the rough Austrian tone. “Niki?” he mutters, wondering why on Earth Niki Lauda was calling him. He’s Seb’s manager.

“Just wanted to tell you this is not Kimi” Niki said blatantly, he must have seen the news as well. “The album, it was named Robin” he clarified, not giving Nico a chance to ask.

“Well, who-”

“Miss Vertanen and I did” Niki said with a sharp smirking edge to his tone, it figures. “Sebastian will be wanting someone to drive him to the concert, yes?” Nico blinked at his phone for a couple of seconds, not knowing what to do with this information.

“Are you sure about this?” Nico asked quietly, quizzical about the entire thing. Sebastian certainly didn’t need to be let down again. Niki lets the silence drag on for the barest of seconds before clearing his throat. “Yes”

“We’ll be there” Nico said, hanging up and dragging Lewis with him out the door. “I’m sorry, Viv. We’ll be back later” he yelled over his shoulder earning glares from the nursing staff but Vivian only laughed and waved them goodbye.

“Send me a video, yeah?” she grinned.

 

* * *

 

 

“What do you mean my album’s name is Seb??? Is not-” Kimi groused into the phone’s receiver, catching Minttu’s knowing gaze from the corner of his eye. She was _laughing_. “Do you know about this?” Kimi asked, hanging up on the receptionist at the agency. It was probably for the best she wouldn’t be able to answer his questions.

“Niki and I were talking during Sebastian’s concert-” she started, still smirking like the Cheshire Cat.

“You did this?” Kimi frowned, feeling betrayed. But Minttu only raised a hand to silence him.

“You love him” she said, completely serious.

“I am not”

“You are”

“I _can’t_ be!” Kimi shouted, the frustration finally beginning to get to him. Curse this woman-

“You said can’t” Minttu wiggled a finger at him, hands at her waist like she was his mother and she was telling him off for eating cookies from the cookie jar. “We both know you’re gay”

“Bi” Kimi answered, irritated by her nitpicking.

“Only for the press” she retorts and Kimi can only grumble at that because she’s right and he knows it. “Go on and do your concert” she insisted, shooing him out the door.

She smirked. “What’s a little album name going to do?”

 

* * *

 

 

Sebastian was speechless.

**Kimi Räikkönen’s latest sensation, a song called Breath from the album SEB, is already climbing the charts and is currently sitting comfortably at number 7-**

It’s the same song from the CD Minttu gave him, it’s been released. “Huh” he hummed, taking popcorn from the bowl Fabian was holding. “Aren’t you going to do something about that?” Fabian asked, gesturing to the TV.

Sebastian thought about that for a moment before Fabian tossed him a jacket.

“And fix your hair, you look like you’ve been inside a hurricane” Fabian said, shoving more popcorn into his mouth and changing the channel. Sebastian smiled and ruffled his little brother’s hair.

He was already sprinting out the door when he bumped straight into Nico and Lewis.

Nico’s hand – which was raised to press the doorbell – stretched out to grab Sebastian’s. “You need a drive to Kimi’s concert?” he grinned and Sebastian could only blink at him in surprise.

“How did you-”

“We’ll explain on the way” Lewis said, shoving Sebastian into their car. “Right now, you have a concert to go to.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kimi’s drenched head to toe in sweat, the number of people attending the concert had doubled after the release of SEB and while Kimi knew that was the proper name of his album now he still felt chills when people pointed it out. Minttu was right, of course she was, this album was all inspired by the German. Kimi _had_ fallen for him.

And now, everyone knew.

“Just the way it should be” Niki said, patting Kimi on the back. He was just about ready to get back on stage for the final song and the band was anxious for reasons unknown to Kimi. “I thought you should know there’s been a change of songs” Kimi raised a brow at Niki, hasn’t he done enough to surprise Kimi today?

The band started playing a familiar rhythm and Kimi’s eyes widened, staring at his adopted father. “Your song” he said.

Loser of the Year.

Niki shrugged, feeling a little proud of himself and of his son. “It’s your song now” he said, punching Kimi playfully on the shoulder. “For Seb” he grinned and Kimi laughed at how ridiculous his father was being.

“For Seb”

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” James shouted into the microphone, smirking proudly. “Kimi Räikkönen!”

Kimi strolled onto the stage, holding loosely onto the microphone as the band behind him began to sing the opening lyrics. _Yeah, ey._

 _‘Yeah ey!’_ Kimi headbanged, basking in how the crowd came alive and how the guitar came in to match the beating of his heart. Kimi swooped in to take command of the song.

 _‘There’s a lot of talk about me, and people lining up to meet me!’_ he hummed along, the memory of meeting Sebastian invading his thoughts. He had been in line to meet him then, maybe this really was his song. ‘I’m on a verge of celebrity’ Kimi jumped, pointing at the crowd. Girls swooned loudly, all screaming his name.

 _‘So what you think about that?’_ Kimi grinned.

 

* * *

 

 

“He’s here!” Nico yelled and Niki barely heard him above the screams of the fans. He smiled at Sebastian, looking lost while he trailed behind Lewis and Nico.

“Good, just enough time for a little make-up.” Niki smiled, shoving Seb into a chair. He keeps being shoved around. Sebastian frowned. “Make-up? Why?” he asked.

Niki just clapped, beckoning the make-up artist and the wardrobe specialist over. “You’ll see”

 

* * *

 

 

 _‘So why do I feel like it’s all just a show?’_ Kimi sang lowly before surging forward towards the crowd. _‘You make me wanna shut it all down, throw it all away’_

 _‘Cause I’m nothing if I don’t have you.’_ He reached down, holding the hands of his fans and chuckling when a couple of them fainted. _‘What’s the point of being on top, all the money in the world’_

 _‘If I can’t blow it all on you?’_ he shook his head and pointed at the crowd. _‘So, send the cars back’_ Kimi threw his arms out, shouting the lyrics along with the fans completely in his element. _‘Put the house on the market’_

 _‘And my big dreams too.’_ Kimi sang, making a show of strumming at an invisible guitar. He pointed to the sky with his pointer finger, Seb’s sign. _‘Because it’s all so clear, now without you here’_

_‘I’m the loser of the year.’_

The band tore it up, the guitar and the drums coming in strong before stopping completely. A hush fell over the stadium as Kimi clutched at the microphone and breathed.

 _‘I can try real hard, I can try to pretend’_ he crooned, the piano playing softly behind him like a second voice. His eyes drifted shut, only him and the microphone. _‘That all these dreams make any sense without you.’_

_‘But that just ain’t true’_

_‘I thought these things would make me forget, about you and me but you’re stuck in my head!’_ Kimi raised his hand, cuing for the drums to start up again. The fans started clapping, finding the beat of the drums and following it with their hands.

 _‘I’m a loser’_ he whispered, swallowing a lump in his throat. _‘If I lose him.’_

The drums give way and James’ voice is blaring across the stadium again.

 

“ ** _Make some noise for Sebastian-_** ” James announced loudly. “ ** _Vetteeeeeeel!_** ”

Kimi’s eyes shoot open and he turns, blue-gray meeting sky blue and he feels like his heart is burning up because it’s _Sebastian_. Kimi knows the fans are screaming but all he hears is Seb singing and all he sees is Seb walking towards him frozen in this moment in front of thousands of people.

Kimi finally, properly realizes he’s in love.

‘You make me wanna shut it all down, throw it all away’ Sebastian sings, looking awkwardly at Kimi with a mic in his hand. ‘Cause I’m nothing if I don’t have you.’ He points at the Finn, taking his rightful place by Kimi’s side. Kimi continues to stare.

‘What’s the point of being on top, all the money in the world’ Sebastian nudges at Kimi sheepishly and when the Finn still doesn’t react he takes Kimi’s free hand. ‘If I can’t blow it all on on you.’

The crowd dissolves into hysterics, screaming their names at the top of their lungs. This finally tugs Kimi out of his shock and he smiles wide and real at Sebastian, both men still singing the song but thinking of each other. _‘You make me wanna shut it all down, throw it all away cause I’m nothing if I don’t have you.’_

 _‘So, send the cars back, put the house on the market?’_ Sebastian shrugs adorably and blushes when Kimi’s fingers twist their way around his. _‘And my big dreams too.’_

‘Because it’s all so clear’ Kimi tilts his head, pulling Sebastian closer to himself and brushing his unruly hair back. The crowd yells in approval and one particular girl screams “ ** _kiss him_** ”. ‘That I need you near’

‘Yeah it’s all so clear, that without you here’ Sebastian smirks, dropping his microphone in favor of grabbing Kimi by the neck and their lips meet in a searing kiss as the fireworks go off in the distance.

_I’m the loser of the year._

The fans screaming “ _Simi! Simi! Simi”!_ are long forgotten and the drummer has to bang his drumstick on the cymbals to remind them to stop because they’re still in public.

They’re grinning like crazy, smiling against each other’s lips when Niki goes out to get them.

“Thank you for watching the concert! We hope you had a good night!” James announces, allowing the two to have their moment.

* * *

 

Kimi is laughing when the curtain closes on them. “I guess we need to thank Niki now?” he mutters, still holding Sebastian’s hand while they walk backstage.

“And Minttu” Sebastian hums in agreement and Kimi laughs some more.

“And Minttu”

Sebastian stops walking and Kimi turns to face him, to see what’s wrong. “What?” he asks and Seb replies by throwing a towel at him.

“You’re all sweaty” he chuckles and Kimi rolls his eyes, wiping the sweat off his face. Once he’s done, Seb kisses him again, chastely. Like a promise. “I love you” he whispers into Kimi’s lips and Kimi’s heart stops for a moment, like this was what his life was building up to.

This moment, with Seb.

“I love you too”

 

And he was right, without Seb he was just a loser trying and failing at life. Anyone who said otherwise was an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH thank god thank god THANK GOD IT'S OVER. I want to thank everyone for following this monstrosity of a fic. I might do an Epilogue (MIGHT) but seriously I'm so thankful that you stuck around to read this crap. XD I love you guys. Here you go, my gift to you. The final chapter is twice as long as all my other chapters. XDD


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